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Growth is what comes to mind while listening to Karen Jonas\u2019s \u201cButter.\u201d It\u2019s been nearly five years since she burst through the saloon doors, guns drawn, with her masterpiece, \u201cOklahoma Lottery.\u201d It wasn\u2019t long after that when the decidedly more tame \u201cCountry Songs\u201d was unleashed, led by a title track as clever as it was desperate.<\/p>\n
And now there\u2019s \u201cButter,\u201d a more accessible set than her previous efforts that leans more toward straight-ahead pop than both her other records combined. Continuously paired with her machete-like wit, the stories here are as good as ever while the music tones down the type of aggression you heard so cuttingly throughout Jonas\u2019s earlier work. It combines for a fulfilling listen, even if you do occasionally wish she would opt to cook with more, say, bitter than she does butter.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s what makes this such a curious collection \u2014 while she pulls back on past predilections, she opens up rooms to which no one probably even knew she had a key. \u201cMr. Wonka\u201d is circus-like (which, perhaps unsurprisingly, might be why it\u2019s followed by the album-finale called \u2026 well \u2026 \u201cThe Circus\u201d), its waltz echoing visions of the track\u2019s namesake, horn section and all. It\u2019s a fun exercise that\u2019s about as far away from Country Songs as Jay-Z is to the Florida Georgia Line.<\/p>\n
The other departure comes in the form of the title track, which transports you right from the rodeo to a 1950s nightclub somewhere in Manhattan. It\u2019s jazzy and smokey and everything that used to make pop music so great. Providing more fun is the singer\u2019s ability to turn phrasing as brilliantly as she does. There isn\u2019t another artist within 500 miles that can take \u201cMama cooks with butter\u201d and turn it into \u201cMama drinks straight whiskey\u201d so effortlessly.<\/p>\n
And yet still, these are the novelties. When Jonas returns to the flavors we\u2019re used to tasting, it\u2019s hard to forget there\u2019s nary a better chef around. \u201cMy Sweet Arsonist\u201d has deliciously western leanings, pedal steel and all, and it showcases the singer\u2019s tender side, her voice downsizing to something just above a whisper every now and then. Naturally, that dynamism makes her regret feel just a little more palpable than it has before as she confesses, \u201cI could build a lifetime from the things I\u2019ve given up.\u201d<\/p>\n
One thing she hasn\u2019t given up is her world-weary eye, and that\u2019s as prevalent as ever on \u201cMama\u2019s First Rodeo,\u201d another retrofitted country swing dance that reestablishes Jonas as someone who knows more about a thing or two than you probably know about a thing or two. One of her many secret weapons has always been her ability to curse effectively, and this song is no exception as the chorus takes hold (one listen, and you\u2019ll see what that means). And with a groove that subliminally walks the line between Nashville and Jamaica, it\u2019s perhaps the most interesting song here.<\/p>\n
As for the best song, that title could go to \u201cDance With Me,\u201d a mini epic that allows the singer to leave a lasting vocal impression once the song gets its feet under it. Sure, it seems simple at first \u2014 a traditional slow burn of a tune with structure that\u2019s as straightforward as it gets \u2014 but while the organ rises and she dares you dance through it all, your heart both breaks and lights up in a flurry of flames, inspired by the demand, hopeful for the perseverance.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, perseverance is an idiom about which Karen Jonas knows a thing or six. This being solo album No. 3, it\u2019s hard to blame her for adding new ingredients to recipes already deserving of Michelin stars. Such is why, in this case, adding a little \u201cButter\u201d to the formula doesn\u2019t just make the meal a little more versatile; it signifies how essential it is to keep filling the pantry with the type of things you once never knew existed.<\/p>\n
Or in short, regardless of if it\u2019s a guitar or a frying pan in your hand, growth is imperative for artistry. These 10 songs affirm that at this point, Karen Jonas is cooking with gas.<\/p>\n
*** 3 STARS OUT OF 4 ***<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Growth is what comes to mind while listening to Karen Jonas\u2019s \u201cButter.\u201d It\u2019s been nearly five years since she burst through the saloon doors, guns drawn, with her masterpiece, \u201cOklahoma…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1307358,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1307357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1307357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1307357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1307357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1307358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1307357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1307357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1307357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}